Glancing down his nose at me, he huffed. “Let’s go.” Hand gently placed on the small of my back, he pushed me toward the stairs. Two Zeelahs stood at the ready, tied to a post with leather reins.
We didn’t need to travel far—there was an open plain about a thirty-minute ride from Ortega Key. With a full moon raised high in the night sky, it was a prime time and location to lure the Effreft. Crisp air tinged with salt nipped at my skin, and I ran my hands along my arms as we brought our mounts to a stop.
“Leave the Zeelahs here. We need to create the offering.” I slipped off my mare and looped her reins around a thin tree before picking my way across the field. Calem followed close behind, bag bouncing in time with his gait.
In the middle of the field rested a flat oval slab. Raised above the grass with a polished surface, it made a perfect offering table. I nodded toward it, and Calem sank to the ground, upending the bag and dumping the contents onto the stone. Fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, and fish bombarded our improvised altar, followed by a heaping stack of reeds and broken-up palm fronds.
An apple rolled onto the ground. Calem snatched it and placed it on the precarious pile of food. “Now what?”
“Now we work. Quickly.” Grabbing the reeds and stripped palm leaves, I began weaving a basket in the shape of a horn.
For a beast that brought bounties of plenty, a feast was needed as part of the bait. Once the makeshift cornucopia was constructed, we stuffed the food inside, leaving scraps around the mouth for easy visibility.
Brushing my hands along my linen pants, I stood and surveyed the trap. “That should do it.”
With Calem dressed entirely in black, it was hard to decipher the shadows from his clothing. But they were there, lurking around his ankles and steel-tipped boots. Following my lead, he wiped his hands across the front of his black trousers.
“Here’s how this is going to work.” Pivoting to face him, I cracked my knuckles. “You need to stay right next to me. I’m talking inches. Keep yourself hidden until I call you out. And when I do, push me to the side and touch the Effreft as fast as you can.”
Calem narrowed his eyes. “I’m not going to push you.”
“I’m serious. Effrefts bond immediately. It’s not normally an issue for Charmers, but since I plan on handing off the beast to you, you’ll need to be its first point of contact. If it sees me first or otherwise associates me as its master, I can’t give it to you. Breaking a permanent bond between beast and master could result in the creature’s death, and I won’t risk that.”
I placed my hands on my hips, daring him to contradict me. Shifting in place, he rocked on his heels. The muscles along his jawline ticked as he weighed his options.
“A little dirt won’t kill me. Just pretend we’re sparring again.”
Red eyes skewered me. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“This is the beast I want to give you,” I said. He studied my face for what felt like hours before relenting, dropping his hand to his side and taking a careful step in my direction. Sinking to the ground, I positioned my butt on the soles of my feet, laying my hands palm up against my thighs. “Get behind me.”
Low and dark, a chuckle escaped from the back of his throat. “I think I’ve been waiting all my life for you to say that to me, Leena.”
A blush ravaged my neck. He crouched behind me, the heady scent of cinnamon thick in the air, and his breath tickled a loose strand of hair on my cheek. Shadows pulled from the earth, flooding the space behind me and hiding him in their void. His scent disappeared with the breeze, and I was left alone.
“Here we go.” Lips pressed into a thin line, I willed my power to the surface. Glowing bright to compete with the moon, my skin radiated warmth. An hour ticked by to the steady hum and vibration of energy within me. I could lure the night away on a full tank, but if dawn claimed the sky before the Effreft appeared, it wouldn’t matter.
Fortunately, that didn’t happen.
A mint-green streak of color dropped from the sky, barreling toward the cornucopia and landing with grace atop the pile of food. Its falcon-like head cocked to the side. Curious eyes rounded on me, pale pink and so endlessly intelligent. The Effreft snapped its beak, and a soft inquisitive chirp filled the air.
She was perfect. I intensified the glow within me, and the pointed ears atop her head twitched. Carefully, she stepped forward. She was built like a small dog with a long and thin feathered tail, and the powerful muscles in her legs contracted as she walked. Talons skewered a piece of meat, and she paused to gobble the morsel.
Wynn had an Effreft.
My mind recoiled at the thought of him. With my body shuddering, the glow radiating from my being dimmed before recovering to full blast. The Effreft stilled, foot frozen in midair.
“Effrefts are flighty creatures. You must be stable.”Wynn had bent low behind me, lips grazing the side of my neck as he placed both hands on my hips. His Effreft had sat before us, light eyes trained on her master.
Before the gods cursed my happiness to hell.
Gooseflesh covered my body, and I speared my bottom lip with my teeth to pull my mind back to the present. Blood pooled in my mouth. It’d been so long since I’d allowed myself to think of those warmer moments with Wynn. I’d buried his existence so far beneath the surface, and yet my conversation with Noc had all my walls crumbling. His strength, his cunning, his quiet prodding that was somehow both infuriating and welcoming…
The Effreft stretched her wings to the sky, testing the wind. My eyes snapped to hers.
No.I needed to tame her. I needed to end this deal and get out. Steadying myself, I bent farther into my crouch, submitting to the creature fully.
She folded her wings and took a step forward, beak inches from my forehead. Light flowed from my being, temporarily blinding her and showering her body in unending waves of warmth. She knelt to the ground and pressed her head firmly against the earth. When she looked up, the first person she met would be her master.
